Grimacing at times due to pain in his right shoulder, Pickett passed for a school-record 455 yards. The record setting day by the Caldwell cowboy was the gutsiest performance by a Husky quarterback since Marques Tuiasosopo's when he set an NCAA record for passing and rushing (300,200) against Stanford two years ago,  Tuiasosopo played more than half that game with a badly bruised hip. Suffering a third-degree shoulder separation against USC two weeks ago, Pickett played the whole game for Washington against Arizona, after sitting out the UCLA game last week.

Overall Washington is 5-1 and is 3-1 in conference play. Arizona is 3-4 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

Notes: 

Washington obviously misses TE Jerramy Stevens, who is out with a broken left foot. In its last four games, Washington has completed only four passes to its tight ends, one to Kevin Ware in the Cal game and one each to Joe Collier in the USC and UCLA games. Kevin Ware caught another one in the Arizona game.

John Anderson continues to be spooked by field goal attempts that come from the right hash mark. He missed one from 35 yards out in the third quarter. Instead of drawing the ball he faded it, much like a golfer who tries to draw the ball from the right side of the tee box, lifts his head and watches the ball go left to right. 

What's wrong with John Anderson's kicking? From a golfer’s perspective: the cold day may have been a factor; you need a warm day for timing, tempo and rhythm. After all, he's from Florida. Trying to draw the ball from the right side of the tee box can be a nightmare. So easy to fade, slice or hook. It’s a mental thing, alignment and all. You can’t stop waggling and never feel ready. Never feel ready. Never talk about a shot, bad or good. It’s that mental thing.

From a kicker’s perspective? I can't answer that. Ask John. If he’s smart, he’ll keep his mouth shut. It's that mental thing. 

If it's warm in Tempe this Saturday, he'll have a great night kicking.

In its last two games, Washington has averaged 34 yards rushing. Surprisingly, it has won time-of-possession in both games, losing the game to UCLA last week. Arizona rushed for 199 yards and passed for 195 against the Huskies. Statistics like that usually show up on the winning side of the ledger.  

Washington continues to be a big-play team. Roc Alexander ran a kickoff 74 yards to the Wildcats' 15 late in the fourth quarter; in the first quarter, Pickett hit Paul Arnold and  Pat Reddick with 78 and 75-yard touchdown passes respectively. Although the dawgs will be out-manned in the trenches, they will have a puncher's chance in each of its last five games.

The Huskies could be underdogs in these five games, barring injuries to key players on the other team or the resurrection of its non-existent running attack. Its rushing defense must be resuscitated as well.

Of Neuheisel's 23 wins at Washington, 12 of them have been come from behind wins in the fourth quarter.

Mike's view from the stands:

Climate:  Very little sun, cloudy, chilly but not uncomfortable.

Attendance:  There were plenty of end zone seats available, and many tickets for sale outside the stadium.

- The upper deck south Cow Chip Cookies was deserted at halftime, no cookies or clerks, causing this reporter acute depression, even though they tack on 50% above the street price.  The report from the pretzel lady a stand down said that they had "sold out," but I find this situation unacceptable.  I plan to write accordingly to the University President as soon as time permits to rectify this outrage!

- Some students dressed only in shorts, painted partly purple, jogged up and down the aisles and around the stadium for about a quarter.  This invoked no particular interest for  myself or my friend Pete, who wondered aloud why they selected men instead of women to parade around in only shorts.

- Muffed Return Play:  Mathias Wilson hit Charles Frederick in the back on a punt return causing a fumble, which was recovered by Arizona deep in Washington territory.  This play caused considerable dismay coupled with hysterical laughter in my section. Even thought it was a major blunder, we loyal dawgs took it in stride with a stiff upper lip and some humor.

- Displaying the Oregon/Stanford score:  The score was announced and displayed on Huskytron two or three times, each with a different final score and a different team winning!  This caused considerable confusion in
the stands, and even on the bus home there was some confusion as to who won the game.

- Announcing the Homecoming Court:  Lou Gellerman and the cameraman were not in sequence at one point, as the profile of the Husky Queen was being read while the smiling King was being displayed on the Huskytron.  The king appeared somewhat embarrassed but took it in stride.

- The option:  When the Huskies ran the option late and lost yards, the faithful booed considerably at the play having been called.  It appeared to all of us the option was not working, hadn't been working, and shouldn't have been run.

- On the late stop of Arizona and game-winning following drive:  The play of the Huskies was very good when it had to be.  The crowd was absolutely on fire and the stadium was rocking.

Scoring:

First Quarter:

7-0 Dawgs--(9:18) Washington touchdown. Cody Pickett hit Todd Elstrom with a 21 yard pass (John Anderson kick)

7-7 (5:30)--Arizona touchdown. Jason Johnson 4 yard pass to Bobby Wade (Sean Keel kick)

14-7 Dawgs--(5:09) Washington touchdown. Pickett pass to Arnold for 78 yards (Anderson kick)

14-14 (2:51)--Arizona touchdown. Johnson pass to Andrae Thurman for 12 yards (Keel kick)

21-14 Dawgs--(1:39) Washington touchdown. Pickett pass to Patrick Reddick 75 yards (Anderson kick)

Third Quarter

21-21 (12:30)--Arizona touchdown. John Rattay 15 yard run (Keel kick)

Fourth Quarter

28-21 'Cats--(5:18) Arizona touchdown. Clarence Farmer 16 yard run (Keel kick)

28-24 'Cats--(4:04) Washington field goal. John Anderson 39 yard field goal 

31-28 'Dawgs--(:13) Washington touchdown. Cody Pickett 3 yard run (Anderson kick)

Statistics:

Individual Statistics:

RUSHING: Arizona-Farmer 21-147, Mills 12-56,  
Johnson 2-4, Cox 1-0, Rattay 8-minus 8. 

Washington- Alexis 11-45, Pickett 8-18, Hurst 7-16
Singleton 2-4.

PASSING: Arizona-Rattay 9-18-1-115, Johnson 7-10-0-80.
Washington-Pickett 29-49-4-455.

RECEIVING: Arizona-Wade 6-74, Leonard 4-77, 
Thurman 3-29, Farmer 2-8, Marshall 1-7. 

Washington-Arnold 7-138, Elstrom 7-99, Williams 7-80
Hooks 3-34, Reddick 2-102, Ware 1-13, Hurst 1-0
Pickett 1-(-11)